How Far Away Are the Red Wings From Becoming Stanley Cup Competitors?
By Evan Mead
The Detroit Red Wings are in the late stages of a rebuild. Well, at least it appears that way doesn’t it?
The Detroit Red Wings are best known for their stretch in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s when they were constantly competing for the Stanley Cup. However, since that point in time, things have begun to decline and now they are missing the playoffs for six straight seasons.
Back when the Red Wings were considered the top team in hockey, they had some all-time greats on their roster. Between Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Nicklas Lidstrom, just to name a few, they were in good hands. However, when those players got older, they started their decline. That brings us to the 2010’s.
Looking back at the last decade of Red Wings hockey, they missed the playoffs four times, lost in the first-round three times, lost in the semifinals two times, and lost in the quarterfinals once.
While listing that out there was one thing you can’t tell: How they declined throughout those years. In other words, they worked backwards from how I listed it above.
So, where does this leave us? Well, it pretty much drops us off in the middle of the desert with no supplies. But after a long stretch, they have started finding themselves near water and they are nearing the road.